Aug 19 2021

Return of the NATO CIS Group (NCISG) Flag from Mission RESOLUTE SUPPORT

MONS, Belgium – The NCISG flag, which had flown at HQ KAIA RESOLUTE SUPPORT (RS), was handed over to Major General Frank Schlӧsser, Commander of the NATO CIS Group (NCISG) on 19 August 2021 by Lieutenant Colonel Adam Ennis, the final RS Signal Commander and currently the Commander of the CIS Service Unit, NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA). The return of the flag to HQ NCISG marks the end of NCISG's presence in the Resolute Support Mission, Afghanistan.

Major General Schlӧsser recognised that the mission had been challenging, but the broad range of expertise and knowledge held by NCISG personnel, as well as their ability to work together as a team, had eased the burden somewhat. He took the opportunity to thank all the NCISG personnel, in collaboration with CIS partners from NCIA and THALES, who over the years had deployed in support of the Mission.

Brigadier General Luigi Carpineto, NCISG Deputy Commander/Chief of Staff (DCOM/COS) and Command Sergeant Major Peter Knӧringer, NCISG Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL), also attended the ceremony.

  Handover the flag; from the left: Brigadier General Luigi Carpineto, DCOM/COS NCISG; Major General Frank Schlӧsser, COM NCISG; Lieutenant Colonel Adam Ennis, final RS Signal Commander (NCIA); Command Sergeant Major Peter Knӧringer, NCISG CSEL

The NATO-led non-combat Resolute Support mission was launched on 12 December 2014; NCISG commitment to Afghanistan endured until end of June 2021. The mission was established at the invitation of the Afghan government and in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution no. 2189 of 2014. Its purpose was to help Afghan security forces as well as various other institutions to develop the capacity to defend Afghanistan and protect its citizens in a sustainable manner, which it did until its withdrawal of forces.